Do you have ideas to help Denver identify new priority investments for the 2017 GO Bond? Join us at Lincoln High School on Thursday, December 1st and South High School on Thursday, December 8th and be part of the discussion to help improve our great city!

If you are unable to make it to the community meetings, you can fill out the form and e-mail it back to our office at Jolon.Clark@denvergov.org or mail us at 1437 Bannock Street, Room 451 Denver, CO 80202 Attn: Councilman Clark. The deadline to turn in the form is Wednesday, December 21st.

DENVER – Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Councilman Jolon Clark (Dist. 7), city officials and community members today celebrated the formal groundbreaking of the Levitt Pavilion Denver. The state-of-the art outdoor amphitheater, located at Ruby Hill Park in Council District 7, will host 50 free concerts annually once complete.

“Having access to the arts right in our neighborhoods is a wonderful way to bring new vibrancy into the lives of our residents,” Mayor Hancock said. “Not only will Levitt Pavilion bring live music entertainment and investment to the local economy, it creates another place for the community to come together in one of Denver’s most beautiful parks.”

Located near public transportation and regional bike paths, Levitt Pavilion will feature grass seating and utilize the natural topography of the park. Each year, the amphitheater will host 50 free concerts, featuring a diverse range of music genres from local to international talent. Site plans focus on creating a family-friendly environment with an open-air stage and canopy structure, state-of-the-art sound and lighting, backstage office and performer dressing rooms, public art and an outdoor concessions plaza.

A new city program is providing same-day day work opportunities at city work sites to people experiencing homelessness in Denver. Today, Mayor Michael B. Hancock, in officially launching the program, joined some of the first participants in the new Denver Day Works program as they planted trees outside the City and County Building and in Civic Center Park. Over the next year, the Denver Day Works pilot program will provide day work opportunities to hundreds of individuals who are experiencing homelessness, with a goal of connecting participants to stable employment.“Many of Denver’s homeless need work now, not the promise of work tomorrow, and Denver Day Works will provide them the opportunity to access the program through the outreach teams who are connecting with them every day,” Mayor Hancock said. “Our goal is to help those who work hard and do well to develop workforce skills, and ultimately, connect them with employment and a more stable quality of life.”

Announced in the Mayor’s State of the City Address in July, Denver Day Works is a supported employment program. As part of the program, outreach teams will be dispatched across the city each day to connect with people who are experiencing homelessness and offer them an opportunity to work at Parks and Recreation sites and with private companies.

“Studies show that employment plays a role in wellbeing, and when people build a stable financial foundation and move to self-sufficiency, their overall mental and physical health can improve,” said Don Mares, Executive Director of Denver Human Services. “We are pleased to support Denver Day Works and to help connect participants not only to work, but also to support systems designed to help them achieve long term success.”

Participants will be given the option to work at job sites for a full or half day, and will be provided personal protection equipment like gloves, eye and ear protection, and receive lunch. At the end of each shift, participants will be compensated for their work and Denver Day Works outreach workers will help connect them to other supportive services such as food assistance, shelter and other public resources. The Denver Day Works program will aim to connect 150 of the individuals with work experience and retain nearly half of those individuals for next day work.

The initial Denver Day Works pilot program will run from Nov. 1, 2016 to Oct. 31, 2017 through a partnership between Denver's Road Home, Denver Public Works, Denver Parks and Recreation and Denver Human Services. The program will be administered in partnership with Bayaud Enterprises, who were selected following a competitive process.​“The Denver Day Works pilot program will provide an entry point to job opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness and other barriers to employment that traditional jobs do not offer,” David Henninger, Executive Director of Bayaud Enterprises, said. “The program will open doors to work, providing added support and leading to economic recovery and financial stability for some of Denver’s residents.”

Applications are now being accepted through November 10, 2016 and sessions start in January 2017! Apply now!Do you want to be a champion on the forefront of the cultural shift toward car-lite lifestyles? Apply for Project Shift, a unique and engaging leadership program that brings people together around a shared interest in improving car-lite lifestyles in their own communities. What’s a car-lite lifestyle? Glad you asked. It means having the freedom and the ability to lead a full life in your community without depending on a car.You can be a car-lite champion and advocate for options that increase the freedom of choice for Denverites. How? By demonstrating just how easy it is to get around without getting behind the wheel.Project Shift: West Denver is looking for applicants who live or work in the West Denver neighborhoods of West Colfax, Villa Park, Sun Valley, Barnum West, Barnum, and Valverde. If you don’t live or work in the designated West Denver neighborhoods, stay tuned! A second Project Shift will be launching in May 2017 for Southwest Denver neighborhoods. For a map of neighborhood boundaries, click HERE! During this seven-month program, you and your cohort will:

Become champions for active transportation options through actions and storytelling.

Work with peers and mentors to adapt personal travel behaviors to reduce car trips.

Develop grassroots leadership skills by working together to create and implement a project in your neighborhood.

Establish actionable relationships with other leaders in your community and in the city.

Create a positive community for like-minded activism and stewardship.

You will attend 10 upbeat and interactive sessions featuring thought leaders from around the city to empower you and to transform perceptions about personal transportation. Each three-hour session will be held on Tuesday evening or Saturday morning. In addition to short readings and self-directed assignments, participants will work together between sessions on activities including a community project. You should plan on a commitment of 10 hours a month. Your toolkit will include a copy of Walkable City by Jeff Speck, a Fitbit, and RTD transit passes. You are also invited to a happy hour on December 13, 2016 to introduce yourself and receive your toolkit! Selection for Project Shift is competitive and space is limited. Applications are accepted through Thursday, November 10, 2016. Accepted participants will be notified by November 18, 2016 and are asked to commit by December 1, 2016. Please allow 20 to 30 minutes to complete the application. If you are unable to complete the online application, please email projectshift@walkdenver.org or call (626) 329-8204 to request a downloadable version to print and complete.Project Shift is a program of WalkDenver, a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to making Denver the most walkable city in the country. Valued at $6000 per participant, Project Shift is offered for FREE to eligible participants thanks to grants from the Colorado Health Foundation and the Denver Regional Council of Governments.​